Warren police are on the lookout for a shoplifter who may have a bright smile.

An officer was called to the Parkman Road K-Mart on Sunday when a store employee reported that a man went to the dental aisle and loaded a bag with 21 packages of Crest White Strips, then left the store.

The store estimates that the total value of the tooth whitening product is nearly $1,061.

A suspect fitting the same description was chased out of the Kmart on State Route 46 after he was caught allegedly trying to shoplift Crest White Strips from that store.

The theft of teeth whitening strips is nothing new.

Our NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, wthr.com, reported in 2012 that police were seeing a rise in the theft of whitening strips from retail stores.

A 2008 Organized Retail Crime Annual Report compiled by the Loss Prevention Research Council said that a task force investigation uncovered a $100 million dollar theft and fencing operation targeting health and beauty products in Florida.

According to the report, the Tampa-based fence dictated items to be stolen that included razors, over the counter remedies and Crest White Strips.

Bob Moraca, Vice President of Loss Prevention for the National Retail Federation, tells 21 News that health and beauty aids are the number one items sought by organized retail crime organizations.

Moraca says that the products can be fenced relatively easily through local, independent stores or sold online at a fraction of the cost that someone would pay at a legitimate retail store.

The suspect in the Kmart shoplifting incidents is described as a bald, heavy set white male, possibly in his late 30's or early 40's. He was wearing a black coat and black pants. He fled in a white SUV.